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Sarasota and Venice
Capt. Rick Grassett
June 20, 2004
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sarasota, FL Fishing Report for 6/13 through 6/20/2004
Anglers on the Snook Fin-Addict had great action in the coastal gulf waters off Sarasota with tarpon during the past week. The week started off hotter than a firecracker and the bite slowed somewhat toward the end of the week due to crystal clear water and calm conditions. However, there were plenty of schools of tarpon throughout the week. Most mornings we had a push of fast moving schools of tarpon first thing in the morning followed by a mid morning lull in the action. From late morning through midday, tarpon schools were slow moving and tightly schooled but finicky. Crystal clear water caused them to stop, move back in the opposite direction and go around the boat.
Cliff Ondercin, from Sarasota, FL, was joined by his dad, Dennis Ondercin from Middleburg Heights, OH, for a week of tarpon fishing with me. The action was fast and furious on Monday when the landed 3 out of 6 tarpon jumped to 90-pounds and had 3 more bites with live crabs on spinning tackle. Dennis caught and released the big fish of the week, a 110-pounder on Tuesday as they went 1 for 4.
With several tarpon under their belt, Cliff changed his focus to catching a tarpon with a fly. He has landed tarpon on a fly with me for the past several seasons and this one would be no different. Wednesday was the toughest day of the week with 4 bites and only one tarpon in the air. Cliff scored with the fly on Thursday, landing a feisty adolescent tarpon on a black and rust bunny fly. Dennis was also 1 for 1 landing a tarpon with a crab that day.
Tarpon were getting much warier toward the end of the week due to the increasingly clear, calm water. Friday was a tough day with lots of shots and lots of refusals with the fly and live bait. Although bites were getting fewer, the ratio of jumped to landed fish was getting better, as they landed 2 out of 2 tarpon jumped on Friday with live crabs on spinning tackle. They finished the week with a total of 8 tarpon landed out of 15 jumped, including a 110-pounder on spinning tackle and one on a fly. A great week!
My wife, Karen, my son, Bryan and my daughter’s boyfriend, Andy Cotton, tarpon fished with me on Saturday. We had numerous shots at fast moving fish early in the day but no takers. We found a happy school of tarpon around 11:00 AM on the Big Pass bar and after working them for a while, Karen connected with a hot one!
The fish first tried to stay in the school but we finally popped her out. Her next move was to cross the bar and drop into the 25-foot deep waters of Big Pass, which is not a good place to be at midday on Saturday. After dodging pleasure boats and jet skis for a while, the fish headed east for downtown Sarasota. She swam more than a couple of miles with the incoming tide, drawing a crowd of spectator boats along the way. I successfully thwarted her attempts to swim into a canal once and then through the north bridge to Siesta Key before she turned and headed north. At one point she was in 1 ½ feet of water near ICW markers 5 and 7 before she swam into the middle of the ICW causing yet another traffic jam. We finally landed her in the middle of the ICW to cheers from passing boats and sent her on her way. Although she only weighed 90-pounds she fought like a 180-pounder. You never know what may happen when tarpon fishing!
Our total for the week was 9 tarpon landed out of 16 jumped. A great week of fishing especially since the landed to jumped fish ratio was better than 50%. The action should continue next week as we head toward the full moon in early July. As long as the weather pattern will hold, I look for tarpon fishing to remain hot!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
www.flyfishingflorida.net
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